An Ode to Labor By Lewis J. Walker, CFP(R)

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer. Summer trips wind down, students leave for college, football season gears up, and in the south particularly, cooler days of fall are anticipated with enthusiasm. The long weekend is marked for rest and recreation as we ponder the meaning and significance of labor and work.

The first Labor Day was organized by the Central Labor Union in 1882. Aimed at promoting trade unions, parades and festivals amused workers and their families. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, a welcome addition to fill the gap between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.

It has long been recognized that meaningful work is a major component of human wellbeing. It does not matter whether it is paid work, volunteer or pro-bono work, or work at home to nurture a family. Work matters!

A human being without purpose is a lost soul. “A life well-lived” is the stuff of advertising, self-help books, and the psychiatrist’s couch. The scientists at the Gallup organization have been exploring the subject since the mid-20th century. A not-so-startling finding: Our happiness and feelings of well-being are a function of liking what we do each day. As Tom Rath and Jim Harter explain in their book, Well Being: The Five Essential Elements (Gallup Press, NY; 2010), “At a fundamental level, we all need something to do, and ideally something to look forward to, when we wake up each day. What you spend your day doing each day shapes your identity, whether you are a student, parent, volunteer, retiree, or have a more conventional job.”

That makes sense. Yet only 20% gave a strong “yes” when Gallup researchers asked over and over, “Do you like what you do each day?” If 80% are unhappy with daily activities, the rest of their life is likely to be out of whack. Certainly, financial wellbeing will suffer; so will physical, social, and community wellbeing.

Ask someone what wellbeing means to them and most, guys especially, will focus on money and physical fitness. But if you are to successfully navigate a life transition, relationships and social connections, and your “sense of place,” that you are where you belong in terms of where you live and work and interact with friends and people, and your spiritual home, are key components of wellbeing. In other words, career, financial, physical, social, and community wellbeing are part of a balanced continuum.

Authors Rath and Harter also wrote the national bestseller, StrengthsFinder 2.0. Propaganda extolling workers and many union labels and graphics incorporate symbols of strength. StrengthsFinder, personal introspection widely applied in business and churches, indicates that when wellbeing suffers, when you are unhappy with your day, you are not applying your strengths. You may have a job or assigned task, but are you in the right role?

When you reinforce God-given talent with knowledge and skill, you have a strength. A talent is a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior productively applied. A skill is the ability to move through the fundamental steps of a task. Knowledge is what we know. A strength, then, is a powerful, productive combination of talent, skill, and knowledge. When you are doing anything from strength, you feel it, you know it, and you love it. Boredom and frustration has no place in your day.

This Labor Day weekend, if you want to recalibrate and infuse your life with new energy, a revitalized sense of purpose, and a sense of holistic wellbeing, read the two short but powerful books noted herein. Take the assessment offered and then talk to an advisor familiar with the StrengthsFinder process. Financial advisors focused on life transitions planning increasingly are using diagnostics and alliances with coaches to increase their own sense of wellbeing, along with that of their clients.

Winifred Holtby (1898-1935) was an English novelist and journalist, best known for her novel South Riding. Her epitaph reads, “God give me work, till my life shall end, And life, till my work is done.” After you say grace at your Labor Day picnic, add Winifred’s prayer to your wishes and resolutions.

Happy Labor Day!

Lewis Walker is President of Walker Capital Management, LLC. Certain advisory services are offered through The Strategic Financial Alliance, Inc. (SFA). Lewis Walker and Mike Hostetler are registered representatives of SFA which is otherwise unaffiliated with Walker Capital Management, LLC. lewisw@theinvestmentcoach.com